NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | July 1, 2016 | PAGE 5
Proud to be union — AND transgender
By Don McIntosh
Associate editor
Be Marston is a union bartender
who’s active in UNITE HERE
Local 8. She’s also president of
the Oregon chapter of Pride At
Work — the AFL-CIO’s organ-
ization for LGBT (Lesbian,
Gay, Bisexual, and Transgen-
der) union members and their
allies. Down-to-earth and quick
to laugh, she’s an enthusiastic
participant at union rallies —
proud to be union, and proud to
be transgender. Formerly known
as Ben, she’s a 43-year-old na-
tive of Prattville, Alabama.
She’s lived and worked in Port-
land 14 years, mixing and serv-
ing drinks at the arts venues now
known as the Portland’5. On
June 20, the day after Be led a
large labor union contingent in
the Portland Pride Parade, I
spoke with her by phone.
LGBTQ stands for lesbian,
gay, bisexual, transgender,
and queer. Why should civil
rights for LGBTQ individuals
be of concern for the labor
movement? Because their
members are LGBTQ. If your
members are LGBTQ, and an
injury to one is an injury to all,
then it is your problem by defi-
nition. Beyond that, I think
there’s a lot of benefit to be had.
When our union affirms our
identities and supports us, that
creates this connection and love
for our union. That’s the kind of
deep commitment that creates
real activism, not this quid-pro-
quo old-school unionism of like
“the union gets this for me.”
On the other side, why should
workers’ rights be a concern
for the LGBTQ community?
Well, because there’s something
like 28 states where you can be
legally fired for being LGBTQ.
And I’m not aware of too many
groups that are working on that.
That’s a workers right, and that’s
dead-on our focus as a labor
group. Being union as a queer
person is huge, because of the
job protections. We [LGBTQ
people] are much more likely to
be fired because of our identity,
but [in the union] we’ve got job
protections. What that means is:
We can be our full selves, at
work, at home. At the company
picnic, our partner can be there.
We don’t have to be closeted
and hide. That’s huge. For me,
coming out in my workplace
and having somebody text me
and be like, “I saw you using the
women’s restroom, and it’s been
reported.” And getting that, and
kind of freaking out, but also
knowing that there’s no way in
hell that the company I work for
is going to say that I can’t use
the restroom that corresponds
with my gender identity. And I
knew that if they did, me and
my union rep would go down
there and kick their asses.
What would you say to union
members who might be curi-
ous about someone who is
transgender? Is there a right
way or wrong way to ask
questions about it without
coming off as ignorant or big-
oted? Well, as far as dos and
don’ts, an important one is (and
you’d think you wouldn’t have
to say this) it’s considered impo-
lite to ask a transgender person,
“Hey, were you born as a man
or a woman?” Because you’re
basically asking them, “What
kind of genitalia do you have?”
And you wouldn’t ask that of
anyone else. That’s one that we
get a lot. Personally, I’m not
against political correctness, but
I think sometimes it can over-
step. I think at a certain point, it
does begin to impair dialogue.
And we need dialogue in order
for change to happen. So I kind
of take people where they are.
You were Ben Marston.
You’ve changed your name to
Be. Why is that? I haven’t
legally changed it. I refer to it as
how I prefer to be called. I’m
going through a transition and I
started hormone replacement
Oregon Pride at Work president Be Marston gets ready to lead a labor con-
tingent in the June 19 Portland Pride Parade.
therapy about a year and a half
ago. Transgender is used as an
umbrella term for a lot of kinds
of identities. I identify as female
but it’s weird to me to adhere to
one gender or the other. I guess
I reached a point in my life
where I felt like I have to pick a
lane. And I felt like that was the
identity that summed it up.
AFL-CIO statement on the Orlando Massacre
National AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka,
Secretary-Treasurer Elizabeth Shuler and
Executive Vice President Tefere Gebre re-
leased the following statement in response
to the murder June 12 of 49 people at a
LGBTQ nightclub in Orlando, Florida:
We in the labor movement are resolved to do
everything in our power to make sure this never
happens again. Forty-nine souls were lost in a
cowardly act of violence. These are our brothers,
sisters and friends. At least one was our mem-
ber.
While we have made undeniable progress to-
ward equality, too many in our country still face
derision, discrimination and violence. These
flames of hatred have been fanned by those in
public life who want to marginalize an entire
group of people for political gain. It’s despicable
and it must stop.
But this was more than just an attack on the
LGBTQ community. The victims were over-
whelmingly young and Latino. Sunday’s mas-
sacre was an assault on everything our move-
ment stands for: equality, justice, solidarity and
inclusion.
It was also an extraordinarily difficult situation
for our first responders, who had the traumatic
job of sorting the dead from the living, effectively
working in a war zone. We thank the police, fire-
fighters and health care providers who saved lives
and continue to care for the injured. We will stand
with them in the trying days ahead.
Labor is one big family, made up of people of all
races, religions, genders, sexual orientations and
gender identities. As a family, we will work to
provide comfort to our brothers and sisters in Or-
lando and across the United States. And we will
make it our daily mission to ensure America’s
workplaces and union halls are safe and free from
bigotry.
There will be some who try to use this tragedy
to further divide us, to pit communities against
each other and scapegoat entire faith traditions.
Let us be perfectly clear: giving in to division and
fear will only add insult to injury. This is a moment
for us to come together, embrace our common
humanity and take the necessary steps to make
our country safer, stronger and more united.